Wednesday, January 23, 2013

kr

Kroger Board of Directors Declares Quarterly Dividend
CINCINNATI, Jan. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --
The Kroger Co.'s
(KR)
Board of Directors today declared a quarterly dividend of 15� per
share to be paid on March 1, 2013, to shareholders of record as of the
close of business on February 15, 2013.
In September, the company's board of directors raised the quarterly
dividend by approximately 30 percent, to 15� per share. Since
reinstating dividends in 2006, Kroger has increased the dividend each
year and expects to continue to do so.
Kroger, one of the world's largest retailers, employs more than 339,000
associates who serve customers in 2,422 supermarkets and
multi-department stores in 31 states under two dozen local banner names
including Kroger, City Market, Dillons, Jay C, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer,
Fry's, King Soopers, QFC, Ralphs and Smith's. The company also operates
790 convenience stores, 344 fine jewelry stores, 1,141 supermarket fuel
centers and 37 food processing plants in the U.S. Recognized by Forbes
as the most generous company in America, Kroger supports hunger relief,
breast cancer awareness, the military and their families, and more than
30,000 schools and grassroots organizations. Kroger contributes food and
funds equal to 160 million meals a year through more than 80 Feeding
America food bank partners. A leader in supplier diversity, Kroger is a
proud member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable and the U.S. Hispanic
Chamber's Million Dollar Club.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, as that term is
defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, about
the future performance of the company. These statements are based on
management's assumptions and beliefs in light of the information
currently available to it. Such statements are indicated by words or
phrases such as "continue," "expects," and "will." That our Customer 1st
strategy will produce strong returns for shareholders, our ability to
generate strong free cash flow and operating results and our ability to
continue to grow our dividend over time, will be affected by our
inability to generate free cash flow at the levels anticipated, and our
failure to generate expected operating results. Our ability to
generate expected operating results may be affected by labor disputes;
industry consolidation; pricing and promotional activities of existing
and new competitors; unexpected changes in product costs; the state of
the economy and consumer response to the economy; the success of our
Customer 1st Strategy; the success of our future growth plans; goodwill
impairments; changes in government-funded benefit programs; volatility
in our fuel margins; our ability to generate sales at desirable margins;
adverse weather conditions; rising commodity costs; the extent of
geopolitical unrest, and other factors beyond our control. This
forward-looking statement is subject to uncertainties and other factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially. We assume no
obligation to update the information contained herein. Please refer to
Kroger's reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
for a further discussion of these risks and uncertainties.
SOURCE The Kroger Co.
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